Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer was appointed as the interim chief by Prime Minister Modi till the next director was appointed.

CBI Chief Appointment: PM to meet CJI and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha on January 16.

CBI Chief Appointment: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to meet the Chief Justice of India (CJI), JS Khehar and leader of the Indian National Congress party in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge to settle on one name for the appointment of the next CBI director. India’s premier investigation agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not have a full-time director after the retirement of Anil Sinha on December 2, 2016. Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer was appointed as the interim chief by Prime Minister Modi till the next director was appointed. This move was opposed by Mallikarjun Kharge and in a letter to the PM he said that the process of Asthana’s appointment was “vitiated”. To which Modi responded by saying that the meeting could not be held due to unavoidable circumstances, and also that a proper meeting for the appointment was to be held.

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Who is Rakesh Asthana?

Rakesh Asthana is a 1984 batch IPS officer. He is considered to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. He was appointed to CBI in April 2016 by the national Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. He got the position of number 2 in CBI among front runners for the post including special director RK Dutta, who was shifted to the Home Ministry as a special secretary.

How is the CBI Chief appointed?

The CBI is selected by a committee that includes the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposite party in Lok Sabha as well as the Chief Justice of India for a period of two years.